The present invention relates to cutting tools in general and more particularly to tools for stripping wires, cables or the like articles.
In stripping insulating material or sheathing from cables or wires a circular cut is first made in the sheath of insulation inwardly from the periphery of the cable and the severed portion of the cable is then slitted in the longitudinal direction to remove the sheath from the wire.
Cutting tools for stripping wires and cables are known in the art. One of such tools is disclosed for example, in the applicant's Pat. No. 3,483,617.
Conventional cable strippers are known which include two gripping cheeks the ends of which are movable towards each other by means of a slidable sleeve which surrounds the cheeks, the cheeks carrying on the inner opposite sides thereof cutting elements or cutting edges. The width and the thickness of the cutting edges used in the art usually correspond to the thickness of the insulation sheath, these cutting edges projecting normal to the elongation of the cheeks.
The cable being processed normally is guided between two gripping cheeks and the sleeve is displaced in the counter forward direction over the cheeks so that the ends of the gripping cheeks are moved one to another and the cutting edges penetrate the insulation sheath. Then the cutting tool is rotated about its longitudinal axis until the insulation sheath is separated from the core of the cable along the whole periphery of the cable. Upon rotation of the sleeve in the opposite direction the severed portion of the insulation sheath is stripped from the wire.
The disadvantage of this otherwise satisfactory conventional cutting tool is that because the cable must be inserted and guided between the gripping cheeks the attention of the operator has been directed to the procedure of the insertion of the cable which has been rather difficult. On the other hand, non-precise separation of the severed portion from the wire due to sticking of the severed portion over a determined length to the wire has not been avoided. Finally, the displacement of the sleeve to move the gripping cheeks to each other and away from each other caused a continuous force tensions. In short, the function of the known cutting tool has not been ideal.
Furthermore, conventional cutting tools of the foregoing type had no special stripping means which would make the stripping process rather easy.